Endling Extinction is Forever review: the last fox on Earth

Our previous test of the Endling Extinction is Forever Demo had warned us, outlining the profile of an intense and emotional adventure, destined not to discount anyone. Set in a dystopian yet dramatically realistic future, indie signed by Herobeat Studios puts us in the shoes oflast fox left alive on planet Earth. By identifying with the creature and its condition, we will have to try to keep our puppies safe, so as to allow them to survive. After completing the entire journey on Nintendo Switch, we are ready to tell you about our experience with what was a short but engaging survival experience with a strong narrative impact.

A collapsing planet

Due to the massive pollution caused by human greed, the Blue Planet looks a seemingly unstoppable ruin in the eye. The ecosystem of the Earth is so compromised that even an animal like the fox, very widespread in the world and able to adapt easily, it seems doomed to extinction. In fact, it has remained on the entire globe only one specimenwhose survival is constantly tested by the conditions of the environment and the neglect that humans have shown for decades towards the signs of the collapse of ecosystems.

Moreover, the beginning of the story of the fox could easily appear in a news report of our days. Cloaked in the flames of yet another fire, a lush forest is reduced to ashes, while rivers of wild animals seek safety by means of a wild ride. Among the creatures on the run, the heroine of Endling – Extinction Is Forever has a particular weight to carry with her. The fox is indeed pregnant with four puppieswhich she will give birth to once she has escaped the flames, exhausted.

Leaving the forest, the animal is itself though approached a human settlement, where some groups of people in turn try to survive the pollution they have contributed to generate. And it is precisely from our species that the greatest danger for the fox family comes. One night, in fact, one of our four puppies is suddenly stolen from us by a man wearing – like many of his kind – a gas mask. It is not clear what he wants to do with the little one and the image of an unfortunate trade in endangered animals is only one of the possible hypotheses.

What matters is that our fox mom is in no way ready to resign herself: determined to reunite her familythe creature will start a chase that will go on for weeks. A bittersweet tenacity, which tells us about the battle for the survival of a species that in any case will be doomed to extinction. As the last specimen on Earth – an “endling”, in fact – the protagonist will in no case be able to succeed in repopulating our planet with foxes. Despite this, her instinct will lead her to fight, night after night, for the safety of her offspring.

Fight for survival

The gameplay backbone of Endling: Extinction Is Forever is pretty simple, but absolutely effective when we think about the message he wants to convey. Every day, as the sun goes down, the family of animals takes action to start one hunting trip, with the aim of gathering enough resources to feed all its members. With the favor of darkness, the world in 2.5D it offers us the opportunity to observe corners of the woods, intensive farming facilities and in general is based on a map full of pitfalls but also full of touching encounters.

As the mother fox, our priority is to accumulate enough food to feed us and our three remaining pups, all while we try to investigate the fate of our fourth baby. The survival element of Endling is essential, not too complex.

The hunger of the herd, therefore, is the only parameter that we will have to keep an eye on during our wanderings, without further worries related to, for example, thirst or the temperature of the natural environment. There are several ways to guarantee us the energy necessary for survival. We can pick berries or other fruits, devote ourselves to hunting for fish, mice or other small animalssuch as rabbits or chickens, but also prey on the nests of their respective eggs or rummage among the heaps of waste abandoned by man in the natural environment. However, the latter are an insidious option: in addition to feeding our family very little, the residues that lurk among the garbage bags can in fact weaken the mother fox and perhaps make her remain imprisoned in rigid plastic packages. A risk not to be underestimated, given that a wounded fox will not be able to protect adequately their puppies from external assaults. A raptor or a cruel human being could thus be able to win it over us, stealing another of the little ones from us or even killing us with the use of an ax or a firearm (in this case the game would restart from the last checkpoint).

On the other hand, the fate of the little ones is different, who, unlike the mother, can meet a permanent death. A shortage of food or an onslaught of a predator can be lethal, with the game only interrupting if the entire litter is lost. This feature is in fact the cornerstone of Endling, which builds all the emotional effectiveness precisely on the affection that the player inevitably ends up feeling towards the furry ones he is called to protect.

The long night of the soul

The only way to make amends for a puppy’s death is to agree to relive the whole night, as the game proceeds with automatic game saving each time you return to the lair. This is a rather expensive solution, especially in the more advanced stages of the adventure, when the challenge becomes more and more complex. The world of Endling changes in fact in a dynamic way, preventing the player from fossilizing on the first survival strategies adopted.

For example, the progress of pollution in rivers will make it impossible to continue catching nutritious fish, while the routines of the humans who hunt us will periodically change, forcing us to think carefully before taking a given path. Effective stratagems, which lead the player to explore every area of ​​the map in a spontaneous and natural way. The latter is not excessively large but boasts proportions adequate to what is the duration of the adventure, which is attested between 4 and 5 hours of play. Between wooded areas and eerie production facilities, the world shaped by Herobeat Studios turned out to be well diversified, with points of interest, shortcuts and new shelterswhich are unlocked as the story progresses.

It should also be noted that the Endling map conceals a series of secrets and events unrelated to the main quest but able to make the adventure of our four-legged protagonists considerably easier. In some areas, surviving pups can learn special skillswith which to assist the mother in the hunt.

One of the young, for example, may learn to dig into the ground to grab larvae and insects, while another will prove capable of climbing tree trunks to collect bird eggs left unattended in nests. We are talking about absolutely precious discoveries, which will greatly simplify the life of our scarlet alter-ego.

Entirely focused on the protection of small foxes, the gameplay is driven by the advancement of the main quest, or the search for the puppy kidnapped by humans. From time to time, our protagonist will be able to sniff out a trace of the baby: chasing it, we will be able to view some brief snapshots of what was the fate of the little creature after its disappearance. On this front, however, we do not want to anticipate too many details: however, know that the story outlined by the Spanish software house knows how to involve and excite, revealing a reality in which love, hatred and compassion find their placefor a silent narrative sector that we feel we can fully promote.

The struggle for survival lived in first person and the exciting epilogue make Endling: Extinction Is Forever an environmentalist survival that it is absolutely worth living. Also for this reason, we would have appreciated a greater longevity, which could outline a more marked alternation of the seasons, perhaps with longer summer nights, perhaps able to leave room for more articulated and complex challenges. Despite this, as mentioned, the Indie manages to insinuate itself into the hearts of the players, with its message and its emotionality, also thanks to the guessed artistic direction and the effective soundtrack, born from specific associations between musical instruments and individual members of the fox family.